________  ________  ________
   2025-07-28                                   /        \/        \/    /   \
                                               /       __/         /_       _/
   it's rare  that I  read Alex's  phlog and  /        _/         /         /
even  more rare  that  I  feel obligated  to  \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_
respond,  he largely  has  technical or  RPG    /        \/        \/    /   \
posts that  aren't of a huge  interest to me   /        _/         /_       _/
or he  has personal or political  posts that  /-        /        _/         /
even if I don't always agree with are always  \________/\________/\___/____/
well thought  out enough that I  can nod and
and walk away satisfied  that I understand his point of  view, whether I agree
or not. but this one[1], to use his words, got my hackles up.

   he talks about how he can't ignore politics because politics is how society
is organised,  a statement I  find a bit  on the nose.  I chose my  politics a
long, long time ago. I am an anarchist  to my core, I will not be goverened by
you  or them,  I am  staunchly anti-war,  I believe  in body  autonomy, and  I
believe we are custodians of Earth and its life, not rulers of it.

   now I can't read his mind, but when I read his post I can form a reasonably
solid impression that when Alex says politics  he's doing so in, let's call it
the "Reddit" interpretation of politics - his politics, his "moral choice" are
HIS politics  and what he  finds "reprehensible" is THEIR  politics. interpret
that how you wish.

   that's fair,  that's the  kind of  politics that's  taught in  colleges and
online social spaces, that's the kind of  politics that is drummed into you by
the media.

   I've  read a  hundred  posts by  people  on either  side  of the  political
spectrum saying  the same  thing, I've had  endless conversations  with people
vehemently defending their politics and crucifying the "other" politics. water
off a duck's back.

   here's  where I  got  annoyed and  felt obligated  to  reply; his  likening
politics to animal abuse is either  disingenuous or poorly thought out because
of the example I'll cite for you, an example that pokes a hole in his analogy;
the Kiwi Farms.

   the Kiwi Farms  is polarising, a lot of people  have pre-formed opinions on
it based on their or others politics. I don't know Alex's politics deeply, but
looking at his phlog I would  guess it's reasonably left-leaning but he's also
not from the United States so their exaggerated left/right dichotomy might not
apply to him and I keep an open  mind. that said though; I can assume he would
not support a site like Kiwi Farms.

   if you  believe what you  read, Kiwi Farms is  a horrible gossip  site that
slanders people  and harasses  them and reposts  their public  information and
content.  that's  probably true.  you'd  also  hear  that it's  all  alt-right
transphobic islamophobic  antisemitic white supremacists that  hound people to
suicide.  that's  not  really  true,  you're thinking  of  Twitter,  or  maybe
Facebook, but that's neither here nor there.

   now what  if I  told you  Kiwi Farms stands  staunchly and  aggressively in
opposition to animal abuse?

   huh?

   since when?

   since always. Kiwi Farms has  been instrumental in tearing down zoosadists,
people who  find entertainment  or sexual  pleasure in  the torture,  rape and
execution  of animals.  alerting  authorities to  them  and dismantling  their
networks time and time again but you  never hear about it because people, like
I imagine  Alex does,  can not  ignore politics. they  let their  politics, or
worse; other people's  politics, blind them or make it  impossible for them to
speak about  people doing good  works because they're  done on a  website they
have been told is  "politically toxic" and to speak about it  is to invite the
wrath of people who also can not ignore politics.

   you can not make the analogy that ignoring politics is like ignoring animal
abuse if you also would ignore animal  abuse to favor your or to condemn other
people's politics.

   you also can  not make the analogy that ignoring  politics is like ignoring
animal abuse  when the politics  of a lot  of these animal  abusers; far-left,
vocally pro-LGBTQ, socialist,  aligns with the people who also  feel like they
can't ignore politics and need to constantly call out "bad" politics.

   you can't have your cake and eat it too.

   if politics  is how  society is organised  but that society  has to  turn a
blind eye to  animal abuse into order  to be organised then I  don't feel like
it's  a society  worth organising,  at  least not  in  the way  you'd like  it
organised. it's a society worth either tearing down, or more easily, ignoring.

   I'm sure  my mention of  Kiwi Farms in anything  but a negative  light will
have a lot of people making assumptions about my politics, despite spelling it
out for them  in the second paragraph  so once more, louder for  the people in
the back: fuck YOUR politics and fuck THEIRS.


[1] gopher://alexschroeder.ch:70/02025-07-22-politics



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